Pegasus row | Allegations of snooping mere “conjectures, surmises”, govt tells SC
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The government has in the Supreme Court dismissed allegations of snooping using Pegasus spyware as mere “conjectures, surmises” based in “unsubstantiated media reports or incomplete or uncorroborated material”.
An affidavit filed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology however said the government would form a Committee of expert to dispel the “wrong narrative” spread by “vested interests”.
The affidavit has been circulated just hours before the Supreme Court hearing of over 10 petitions, including one by senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar, seeking a full disclosure from the government in whether it used the military-grade surveillance technology to spy on citizens, journalists, Ministers, parliamentarians, activists and dissenters.
The affidavit put on record the government’s “unequivocal denial of any and all of the allegations”.
“A bare perusal of the captioned petition and other connected petitions makes it clear that the same are based on conjectures and surmises or on other unsubstantiated media reports or incomplete or uncorroborated material. It is submitted that the same cannot be the basis for invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court,” the affidavit said.
The government said questions about the alleged use of Pegasus “stands already clarified on the floor of the Parliament by the Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology of India, Government of India”.
“Nothing further needs to be done at the behest of the petitioners, more particularly when they have not made out any case,” the government said.
“It is, however, submitted that with a view to dispel any wrong narrative spread by certain vested interests and with an object of examining the issues raised, the Union of India will constitute a Committee of Experts in the field which will go in to all aspects of the issue,” the affidavit noted.
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